Arthur Shappey, You're Up!
by Wayoming
Summary: This is Arthur. This is his life.
1. Chapter 1

"Dad! Look!"

Arthur is six years old. He is not a clever boy. He has spent the last twenty minutes constructing an alphabet puzzle. Mostly wrongly. When he does however finish the puzzle, with all the right pieces in the right place and _everything_, the first thing he wants to do is show his Dad.

His father barely glances at the completed alphabet before returning to his newspaper. 

"Very good Arthur."

Arthur is too young to understand the boredom in his fathers voice. 

Arthur has brought home a collage. He had looked at all the brilliant colours and shapes and fabrics and paints, and he had decided to use them all. The resulting optimistic presentation of his collage to his father is enough to make his mother wince. She knows how he will react. Her heart breaks for Arthur as all he says is "Yes Arthur… very nice." He leaves the room and Arthur runs into his mothers waiting arms. Arthur thinks maybe his collage wasn't as brilliant as he thought.

Arthur is 7 he first time his daddy shouts at him. Arthur isn't even sure what he had done to make him so angry. All he could see was the anger in his eyes.

Mummy makes Arthur wear a long sleeve shirt to school the next day, even though it's hot outside.

Arthur learns quickly not to bring things to his father. He learns quickly when to leave him alone. What is harder for him is learning that his dad really isn't a nice man. Arthur begins speaking less. Only when spoken to. Then he begins only answering in monosyllabic tones. Then mere nods and shakes of his head. Arthur stops speaking altogether. His father doesn't notice.

Arthur goes on being a normal boy. He is silent, and clumsy. In the year that Arthur stopped talking he broke three bones, used up countless boxes of plasters and came down with several variations of the common cold, giving him a perpetually runny nose. But being a hearty child Arthur continued his silent adventures unabated.

He has interests. He likes animals, and being outside. But nothing comes above wanting to work with his Dad.

Arthur wants to be a pilot.

In the times that his mother tried especially hard to get him to speak she would talk to him about planes. He wouldn't respond. But he would listen. He would warm her heart with the small, careful, smile he would have when she talked to him about planes.

The next time Arthur speak he wishes he hadn't.

He is nearly nine when he sees his father strike his mother for the first time. He had been sat in bed, small arms wrapped tightly around hunched up knees. The sound of angry murmurs leaking through the floorboards. He heard them getting louder and louder. He uncurled himself and padded quietly down the stairs and listened silently at the living room door.

They were arguing. Arguing about him. Mum's usually strong voice had become shaky. Arthur didn't want Mum to cry.

His father didn't like how much Mum babied him. He is shouting about how she should treat him like a boy should be treated. He didn't want any son of his growing up to be soft. To be a pansy. His mum is arguing hard, saying if you bothered to speak to your son, Gordon, maybe he would speak again!

It wasn't until he heard his father call him an idiot that he pressed the living room door open a crack. His father thought he was stupid.

He could see the room, see his mothers face, tear streaked, firming and growing angry, as she squared up to his father. Her voice became dangerously quiet.

"Well if he is you know where he gets it from-"

A tense silence is suddenly broken as his fathers palm swings across and makes contact with a sickening crack.

Arthur sees red and rushes into the room.

"Hey! Leave Mum alone you- you- you horrible man!" 

His fathers eyes flash in his direction, and his mother moves to Arthur before he can take a single step.

"Come on Arthur, time for bed." 

Arthur can see the nasty red mark on his mother's face, and the tears in her eyes. She takes him by the hand and leads him out of the room. She paused long enough to turn and say

"Gordon, you are a bastard." 

The next morning Arthur wakes early. He comes downstairs to see his mum sat at the kitchen table. He stands next to her. His father has gone to work. He takes her hand and she looks up from her nearly empty cup.

"Do you want me to make some tea Mum?" 

She smiles, and pulls him into a hug. 

"Yes please Arthur."

Arthur doesn't ask why his father doesn't come home that night. He only wants his mummy to be happy. He's not bothered but what his father said. About him being an idiot. All Arthur wants to be when he grows up is a pilot. Over dinner he asks Mum how planes fly. 


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur has his heart broken when he is eleven. He had joined his new public school, and liked it, really he did. It didn't matter that he couldn't run as fast as some of the other boys, or that he wasn't very good at football, or that they made fun of him for making paper hats with Captain written on them. Arthur didn't care. All Arthur cared about was his Mum being proud of him…and planes. But mostly Mum. He goes about his business, trying really hard to remember everything he needs to, because his new school is much harder than before. He does really well until his form tutor gets ill.

Miss Hooper was young and clever and pretty and Arthur thought that she was the best person he'd ever met.

"Good morning class!" she said softly "I am Miss Hooper, I am going to be your form tutor until Mr Humphries returns." Smiling kindly at the class, her eyes fell on Arthur, "What's your name?"

"Ar-Arthur Shappey, Miss." Arthur squeaked.

"Well Arthur Shappey, could you be a big help and be responsible for fetching the registers after lunches?" Arthur blushed right to the tips of his ears.

"Yes Miss-Ma-am-Missum-Miss Hooper."

Arthur buried his face in his hands, feeling hot and embarrassed as the class tittered around him. Miss Hooper merely smiled and said

"Thank you Arthur. That would be brilliant."

And for a while it was. Arthur would finish his lunch hour ten minutes early to fetch the register. Miss Hooper would be sat behind her desk and would smile sweetly at Arthur whenever he turned up, would talk to him about anything. She'd ask what classes he had that afternoon, whether he was particularly good friends with any of the other boys and what his best subject was. Best of all, in Arthur's opinion, was that she would listen to him talk about planes. About different types of planes he knew about, about his Dad buying planes, about the times he'd been on one and, best of all, he told her about wanting to be a pilot. She wouldn't sigh like other teachers, or make fun of him like the boys did, she listened. After nearly a week she even starts calling him "Captain Shappey" when he comes in.

Arthur knows that when he becomes a pilot he wants Miss Hooper to fly around the world with him. He tells her so.

"Maybe one day," she giggles "First Officer Hooper has a nice ring to it." And to Arthur that means it's settled.

After two weeks Arthur can't imagine anyone else he loved more than Miss Hooper. Except his Mum, obviously. It is a big surprise then when he walks into his form room next Monday morning to find Mr Humphries, red-faced and grumpy, readying himself for morning registration. Arthur's stomach drops and he just about manages to ask where Miss Hooper is.

"Miss Hooper? She's gone lad. Was only filling in for me while I've been getting over the 'flu."

"Oh."

When Arthur goes home that afternoon he doesn't say hello as his mother opens the door. He rushes up to his room, throws himself onto his bed, and cries into his pillow.


End file.
